Chapter 22: Spring Cleaning

"We need to do something different today," Claire announced as she came downstairs.

Six was sitting on the couch playing Plants vs Zombies (having already defeated Angry Birds) and looked up with a glimmer of curiosity in his cold eyes. "Like what?"

"Spring cleaning!"

She needed to see if there was any information that would back up her suspicions about her mother and her father's family. If there was anything to be found, they would have to clean out a lot of junk that had accumulated over the years.

He furrowed his brow slightly. "Claire, it's Fall."

Claire sighed. "I didn't mean that literally. I want to look for information that might indicate why people are coming after me and I could use your help sorting through things. After a few hours we can do something fun that I guarantee you haven't tried before. Okay?"

Six paused his game and got off the couch. "Good idea. Lead the way."

She figured they should start in her mom's room. She might have kept some things under the bed or at the top of the closet.

This was long overdue anyway. She had left things exactly as they were after her mom's death but a lot of this stuff really should have been donated already. It wasn't like it was ever going to be used again.

Claire directed Six to pull things out of the top of the closet since he was taller than her. She started with whatever might be under the bed by getting on her stomach and twisting her neck to crawl under there.

She didn't find much. There were a bunch of dust bunnies and a cat toy she had no idea was even up here because Daisy normally wasn't allowed in this room. She grasped the stuffed mouse in her fist and tried getting back out but whacked her head on one of the bed's support beams.

"OW!" she yelped.

Her eyes watered and she tried to rub her head with her free hand but it was difficult because there wasn't much space under this bed. Before she knew it, Six was under the bed too with his face only a few inches from hers.

"What happened?" he asked calmly.

Claire hadn't even seen him move. One second she was alone, the next he was there. He could be really scary sometimes without even meaning to.

"I hit my head," she replied miserably. "But it's fine. I just need to get out from under here."

Six slid out from under the bed in one fluid motion and told her to lie as flat as possible. She did as he asked and was in the middle of asking why when he pulled her out with one solid yank.

All Claire could do was blink up at him in surprise. That took much less time than it would have if she tried to wriggle out on her own. He must be an expert at getting out from under beds.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly.

"You're welcome."

This was the first time she had heard him say that in response to being thanked. Had he picked it up from her? She had said it more than a few times in the past week of being stuck together.

Claire felt an odd twinge of pride. He was learning how to talk like a normal human being! Maybe he would be able to survive in the real world someday after all. It would simply take practice. A lot of practice.

"I found a few boxes up there," Six informed her. "Would you like to look through them with me? You know your mother better than I do and are more likely to find something out of place than I am."

He had a point. She ended up joining him cross-legged on the floor and opened up the first box. It was filled with loose photos that didn't quite manage to make it into her childhood scrapbooks.

A sad, nostalgic smile appeared on her face as she looked through them. She and her mom both looked so young here. Though there was a certain deadness to her mom's eyes that she had never noticed before in almost every photo even though she was smiling.

It made her look both tired and stressed. In light of what had been happening lately, it was more suspicious than it would have been otherwise.

Claire sighed. What had her mom been hiding from her all this time?

"Is this you?" Six asked, pointing to a picture of two-year-old Claire in a princess costume at Halloween.

"Yeah," she replied with a laugh. Her cheeks were so chubby back then.

"Why are you holding a bucket?"

Ah. He probably didn't know about Halloween either. "This picture was taken on Halloween; it's a holiday where kids dress up in costumes and get free candy from their neighbors by going door-to-door. I'm probably not explaining this well but it's really fun!"

Six seemed intrigued. "A holiday with an age limit?"

"Well, adults usually do different things to celebrate like watch scary movies or host parties with their friends," Claire said with a shrug. "Last year I hung around the house watching old monster movies and passing out candy to the kids in the neighborhood."

"When is this?"

"October 31st. If you're still around then, I could show you some of the best ones."

Halloween was about a month and a half away. She sincerely hoped this was all wrapped up before then but it seemed like the nice thing to say. Would she even be able to open the door for trick-or-treaters when there might be a hitman waiting for her on the other side?

Dread flooded through her. How long would this take? Would she ever be able to live her life normally again or would she spend the rest of her life quaking in fear every time she went outside?

And what about Six? It wasn't like he would stay here protecting her forever. If he got bored and decided to let her fend for herself before the hit on her got called off, she was completely doomed.